Synonyms for reiterate

Did You Know?

Can you guess the meaning of iterate, a less common relative of reiterate? It must mean simply "to state or do," right? Nope. Actually, iterate also means "to state or do again." It's no surprise, then, that some usage commentators have insisted that reiterate must always mean "to say or do again AND AGAIN." No such nice distinction exists in actual usage, however. Both reiterate and iterate can convey the idea of a single repetition or of many repetitions. Reiterate is the older of the two words — it first appeared in the 15th century, whereas iterate turned up around 1533. Both stem from the Latin verb iterare, which is itself from iterum ("again"), but reiterate took an extra step, through Latin reiterare("to repeat").

Examples of reiterate in a Sentence

He iterates and reiterates that his lab likewise provided the French with many biological tools and samples, as well as significant technical guidance …— Natalie Angier, New York Times Book Review, 24 Mar. 1991Easy victories bring little satisfaction; repeated failures encourage reiterated effort, to the moment of ultimate gratification or ultimate resignation.— Peter Gay, Style in History, 1974Judge Douglas has again, for, I believe, the fifth time, if not the seventh, in my presence, reiterated his charge of a conspiracy or combination between the National Democrats and Republicans.— Abraham Lincoln, debate versus Stephen A. Douglas, 7 Oct. 1858"And are you glad to see me?" asked she, reiterating her former question, and pleased to detect the faint dawn of a smile.— Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847
She avoided answering our questions directly, instead reiterating that the answers could be found in her book.
Allow me to reiterate: if I am elected, I will not raise taxes.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reiterate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.